Russia Invades Ukraine

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‘We could hear the roof collapsing’: how Russian missiles devastated Kyiv’s cultural sites

For four years, Vitalina Martynovska and her team had been working on a complete transformation of Kyiv’s National Chornobyl Museum.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/30/russian-missiles-devastated-kyiv-cultural-sites?

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Putin rejects Zelenskyy’s offer to meet and reaffirms Ukraine war aims

Russian president describes Ukrainian counterpart’s letter as rude and says he sees no point in face-to-face talks

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/05/putin-rejects-zelenskyys-offer-to-meet-and-reaffirms-ukraine-war-aims?

ps:The only one rude is putin!!!!!!!!!!

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‘Looks like Chornobyl’: life in Kyiv’s most bombed neighbourhood as Ukraine braced for new mass strike

On Lukianivska Square, in Kyiv’s most bombed neighbourhood, the white letters on a busy McDonald’s have melted from a fire that engulfed a nearby shopping centre during the last major attack, on 24 May.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/13/lukianivska-square-kyiv-most-bombed-neighbourhood-ukraine?

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Ukrainian attacks prompt Russian-held Crimea to halt civilian gasoline sales

Officials in Russia-occupied Crimea suspended civilian gasoline sales Sunday as Ukraine ramped up attacks on fuel supplies on the Black Sea peninsula.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-was-crimea-gas-fuel-1bd4d0980a353fa0f8221040215e6435?

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Ukraine unleashes one of its heaviest drone bombardments of Russia

Ukraine launched a major nighttime attack on a dozen Russian regions, Russian-held Crimea and the surrounding seas, Moscow’s Defense Ministry said Friday, in what appeared to be one of Kyiv’s biggest drone assaults since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion more than four years ago.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-biggest-drone-attack-a356e2a119f3cb9422ede6acbedf56f3

• 🇺🇦 Ukraine launched a major overnight attack on a dozen Russian regions, Russian-held Crimea and the surrounding seas. It looks like one of Ukraine's biggest drone assaults since Russia invaded more than four years ago. Go deeper.

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Ukraine's drone blitz

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photos: Viktor Kovalchuk and Serhii Mykhalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Ukraine's sustained and sophisticated drone warfare has knocked out refineries, tilted the battlefield balance and brought the war home to some Russians for the first time in four years of fighting. Why it matters: Ukrainian confidence is running high, and Russia is struggling to provide fuel to its cities and supplies to its troops, Axios' Dave Lawler reports. President Volodymyr Zelensky says he's launching a "40-day influence operation" to force Moscow to sign a peace deal. Hours after Zelensky's announcement on Thursday came one of the largest drone attacks of the war, targeting 12 regions of Russia as well as occupied Crimea. 💡 Reality check: The U.S.-led diplomacy on Ukraine is largely on hold due to a combination of the war in Iran and frustrations after the failure of several previous rounds.

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Ukrainian drones set another Russian oil refinery ablaze as Putin admits fuel shortages

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine kept up its heavy drone assault on Russia, setting fire to a major oil refinery in the south, as President Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time on Sunday that the country was facing a “certain deficit” of fuel and vowed to strengthen protection of oil facilities and boost fuel output.

https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-oil-refinery-drones-88370faa1a49504438388f2854d7afd3?

ps:This could've all been avoided had trump allowed Ukraine to get the money and equipment that the congress and approved! also had Biden as soon as he got into office given them that stuff and not waited 2 yrs for the congress to become maga republicans and follow trumps bidding, etc.!!

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Russian attack kills at least 17 in Kyiv Authorities said the attack on the capital with missiles and drones damaged buildings and civilian infrastructure across the city. Read more.

Why this matters: Russia has intensified its attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks, even as Ukraine’s own long-range drone campaign against Russian military sites and energy facilities has caused fuel shortages, frustrating Russians and putting pressure on President Vladimir Putin.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Rescuers pull the injured from rubble in Kyiv   Photos show aftermath of attack overnight   Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries plunge Russia into a summer fuel crisis    Russia waged drone campaign in Europe and likely launched drones from shadow ships, report says

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Russian attack on Kyiv kills at least 27, injures scores

Ballistic and cruise missiles and drones were used in what Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said was the largest attack on the city since the war began.

https://www.dw.com/en/russia-launches-attacks-on-kyiv-killing-at-least-27-and-injuring-scores/a-77794194?

💥 Ukraine's long reach

A man launches a Ukrainian Raybird drone during a reconnaissance mission in June. Photo: Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images The Ukrainian military is proving it can blow up pretty much whatever it wants, Axios' Colin Demarest writes. Why it matters: Fewer and fewer places feel safe inside Russia, as oil facilities, weapons factories, convoys and bombers burn. 🔭 The big picture: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly touted "long-range sanctions" — a tongue-in-cheek reference to attacks on Russian assets hundreds of miles deep into the country. Ukraine's tools and tactics have grown increasingly sophisticated over years of war.

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Ukraine Ukraine’s capital Kyiv came under a deadly Russian attack early Monday morning that killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens more, city officials said. The strikes come before a NATO summit in Turkey, where President Trump is expected to meet with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. Read more.

MORE: Almost every Russian region hit by fuel crisis as Ukraine escalates drone attacks

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Inside AP’s on-the-ground reporting of the Russia-Ukraine war

President Donald Trump said Wednesday during the NATO summit in Turkey that the U.S. will give a license to Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air defense systems to help counter Russian missile attacks. There have been multiple deadly strikes on Kyiv this week. Today I’m with Susie Blann, our news director for Ukraine, to find out more about AP’s coverage of the conflict.

What’s it like for a reporter on the ground in Ukraine when a missile or drone attack begins? It’s a balance between personal safety and covering the news. We have a team on standby and when an attack begins, we take cover but keep in constant contact following developments. We document what we can from where we are and when we think it’s safe to deploy, our teams head out into the field to capture those essential images and witness accounts that show the ongoing impact of Russia’s invasion.   The AP has a robust presence on the ground in Ukraine, even as the war there has passed the four-year mark. How has our coverage of the war changed recently? With the world’s attention often focused elsewhere, we concentrate on producing stories that show the war’s impact on Ukrainian society while explaining developments in ways that keep audiences engaged. At the same time, reporting from the front line has become even more dangerous due to the intensity of drone warfare, so a lot of security preparation goes into every deployment.

If you want more from Susie, she will be among the AP journalists taking questions at an exclusive AP donor-only event on our war coverage, including what it’s like to interview President Vladimir Putin. If you want to be part of the conversation, make a recurring gift today. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy   Ukrainian drones batter Russian oil facilities, set more oil tankers ablaze   WATCH: Midrange drones are reshaping the battlefield for Ukraine

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Putin’s Nightmare Deepens After Humiliating Strikes

Ukrainian drones set two oil tankers ablaze in the Sea of Azov and hit fresh depots as the Kremlin’s fuel misery grows.

Vladimir Putin’s fuel nightmare has worsened as Ukrainian drones set two oil tankers ablaze in the Sea of Azov and torched depots deep inside Russia.Thursday’s strikes are the latest blows in a punishing months-long campaign that has crippled Russia’s refineries and plunged roughly 50 million people—about a third of the population—into a fuel crisis on a scale not seen since the dying days of the Soviet Union.

At the time of publication, the tankers were still burning off Russia’s southern coast, Rostov Gov. Yuri Slusar said, with one crew forced to evacuate. It was the latest in a run of strikes on shipping in the area, part of Kyiv’s push to choke fuel supplies to Crimea, the peninsula Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

Drones also triggered a blaze at an oil depot in the western city of Tver, acting Gov. Vitaly Korolyov said. In the Stavropol region, burning reservoirs forced residents of several apartment blocks to flee, according to Gov. Vladimir Vladimirov.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 48, has cast the attacks as “long-range sanctions”—payback for Moscow’s refusal to stop fighting. “We have long proposed that Russia end this war, and every day of delay should bring the feeling of war to where it all began—to Russia,” he said.

The strikes landed a day after U.S. President Donald Trump, 80, told Zelensky the U.S. would grant Ukraine a license to build its own Patriot air defense systems, as the Associated Press reported.

While this would hand Kyiv a long-sought win at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, a top Ukrainian official warned homegrown Patriot interceptors could be a year or more away. Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, said the real obstacle is time, not skill, with some subcontracted parts taking up to two years to produce.Russia’s Defense Ministry said it downed 73 Ukrainian drones overnight. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force said it faces its own barrage from 94 Russian drones and two ballistic missiles, saying 19 drones and both missiles hit 13 sites.

The Kremlin brushed off any idea that the strikes would expedite peace. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Washington’s stance “ambivalent” but said Moscow still welcomed Trump’s efforts.

“It’s a mistake to think that escalation and military pressure could pave the way to a peaceful settlement,” Peskov said, warning that more strikes would only push Russia to carve out a bigger “buffer zone” in Ukraine.

He added that Putin is “open to dialogue” and ready for another call with Trump.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/putins-war-nightmare-deepens-in-humiliating-strikes-by-zelenskys-ukraine-on-oil-facilities/?

ps:Personally they need a different country to be an arbiter between Ukraine and Russia, trump is useless here!!!!!

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Ukraine fires 400 drones toward Moscow as Zelenskyy grapples with protests

Ukraine fired more than 400 drones toward Moscow in its latest major attack on the Russian capital, the city’s mayor said Monday.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-drones-missiles-zelenskyy-f42baa61109fcb43b7efabf5334c4f50?

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A tech innovator and an old guard general are the focus of Ukraine’s political crisis

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — One is a tech-savvy drone innovator with no military experience who became Ukraine’s youngest defense minister six months ago and was credited with contributing to successes in defending against Russia’s 4-year-old invasion.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-zelenskyy-crisis-fedorov-syrskyi-c1a230ae6d56bb32a38367e18638e12a?

The new commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces forged his reputation fighting Russia in 2014

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military forged his reputation as a daring and determined fighter in the early days of the country’s battle against Russia, then spent a decade in combat assignments while steadily rising through the ranks.

https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-general-russia-war-commander-drapatyi-54db297e2097edc5beb04e13def2b9f9?

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Laura Loomer meets Zelenskyy in Ukraine after her major reversal on the war The ardent ally of President Donald Trump, with a reputation for incendiary social media commentary, sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday. Read more.

Why this matters: It was a stunning reversal for a woman who had spent years criticizing U.S. support for Ukraine's defense. Loomer had minimized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and amplified Russian propaganda to her nearly 2 million followers.    Trump gave his stamp of approval on social media. “Very good!!!” he wrote on Thursday evening. It was unclear what had prompted Loomer's trip or how she had arranged the meeting with Zelenskyy. Loomer and the White House did not respond to requests for comment on the trip. “It is really important that @LauraLoomer is in Ukraine and sees things with her own eyes as they are,” Zelenskyy’s office wrote.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US is ready to help end the ‘senseless war’ in Ukraine but no quick deal ahead, Rubio says    How protests over a popular minister’s firing sparked Ukraine’s sudden military reset    Ukraine hits Russia’s largest online marketplace, hurting small businesses and bringing the war home

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Exclusive: In a Ukrainian bomb shelter, Laura Loomer explains shift on Russia’s war

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Laura Loomer became infamous for spreading conspiracy theories online. Now, as she travels across Ukraine to see the damage inflicted by Russia in its yearslong war, she wants to admit that she fell for some falsehoods of her own.

https://apnews.com/article/laura-loomer-trump-ukraine-russia-interview-101852f6deab17e1d8d215fdde675ee5?

ps:So now that she's OK with Ukraine, trump is now going to be on there side?? Pathetic!!

Exclusive: In a Ukrainian bomb shelter, Laura Loomer explains shift on Russia’s war

Laura Loomer became infamous for spreading conspiracy theories online. Now, as she travels across Ukraine to see the damage inflicted by Russia in its yearslong war, she wants to admit that she fell for some falsehoods of her own. A close ally of President Donald Trump, Loomer has completely reversed her longtime criticism of Ukraine and is urging fellow conservatives to be wary of Moscow’s propaganda, which she blames for duping large swaths of the American right. She spoke with The Associated Press in Kyiv from an underground bomb shelter as the city faced another ballistic missile attack.  Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

2 dead in Ukraine from Russian attacks, 4 more in Russian-held area hit by Ukrainian drones

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Russian strikes

Poland is blaming Russia for firing a missile deep into its territory during a wave of deadly long-range strikes across Ukraine that killed at least eight people. Earlier, Poland said it scrambled fighter jets in response to the large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine. Read more

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Ukrainian drones kill 5 in Russia and set fire to Wildberries warehouse

Ukrainian drone strikes killed at least five people across Russia, also hitting industrial sites and a further warehouse belonging to Russia’s e-commerce giant Wildberries, local officials said. Read More.

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Putin’s Desperate Plot to Fix His Humiliating Troop Crisis Exposed

The strongman has a new plan for Russians who don’t want to join the war effort.

Vladimir Putin’s army recruitment drive has taken a dark turn, according to watchdogs.

Russian losses on the front line have been intensifying, with an estimated 30,000-40,000 troops dying every month. The tide of the Ukraine war appeared to turn in May, with Ukraine’s Defense Forces carrying out more offensive and counterattacking actions than Russian troops during a 24-hour period.

Russian forces suffered 42,860 casualties in July alone, the highest monthly toll reported so far this year, according to the Ukrainian General Staff.

As a result, Russian men have been even more reluctant to join the military. A panicked Putin has overseen a plan to force them to go. “Authorities have switched to a method of violence, when they catch men and send them off,” Artyom Klyga, a lawyer for the victims, told The Wall Street Journal.

Authorities are using dirty tricks to get military-aged men to sign up. One method is detaining people on the streets, taking them to recruitment offices, and strong-arming them into signing up. Watchdogs and witnesses said some men are even beaten until they agree.

“Just as many people have to somehow be brought into service, and the fewer there are who are ready to sign a contract, the more pressure they have to use,” Grigory Sverdlin, the founder of the antiwar nongovernmental organization Get Lost, told the Journal.

Authorities had already tried throwing money at the recruitment problem, offering large windfalls to men willing to go to the front. But Ukraine’s rally, as well as dark tales of abuse within the Russian ranks, has dissuaded potential fighters.

In some places, law-enforcement officials are working with recruitment officers to entrap their victims, insiders told the Journal.

Vladislav Leonidov, from the southwestern region of Penza, said he witnessed one such trap. He was at a police station when he saw a man he knew who had gone missing.

The man was scooped up by cops and told they needed to check his details at the office. When he got there, he was met by military recruiters who beat him then ferried him away to a recruitment office, Leonidov told the Journal.

He was able to intervene during the man’s medical exam and get him released, he told the newspaper. “If we had come two hours later, he would have already been taken away,” Leonidov said. “They move very quickly.”

Locals in Penza have revolted against the recruitment drive. “They beat you, they forced you!” a woman is seen shouting in one video of a forced recruitment exercise that went viral on social media. However, the Penza branch of the Interior Ministry denied anything fishy was taking place.

It also threatened “legal consequences” against “those spreading false information.”

“They haven’t forbidden me from continuing, but they’ve made it clear it’s in my best interests not to,” blogger Stanislav Morozov, who made a documentary about the forced conscription, told the Journal of an investigation into him by the Federal Security Service.

He claimed that officers have another grim technique to get more sign-ups. They threaten to arrest people and plant drugs on them if they refuse to put pen to paper, he said.

Another campaign has been spotted around Penza and other regions. Posters have been scattered around residential buildings offering residents around $1,300 to “bring a friend” to registration centers.

Experts suggest these methods have been signed off by the Kremlin and the Defense Ministry.

However, the strong-handed approach has not resulted in a noticeable bump in numbers on the front. U.S. officials have suggested that the Kremlin could still roll out another round of forced mobilization.

This could spell trouble for Putin, too. “As soon as I’m given a weapon, I will shoot those who mobilized me,” Russian reserve officer Dmitry Rogin told the Journal.

Russians are already unhappy, with a financial crisis growing as a result of Ukraine’s counter-offensive. A Financial Times analysis highlighted the growing impact of the punishing months-long Ukrainian drone campaign targeting critical Russian oil infrastructure and logistics hubs, reporting that oil and natural gas production capacity has been hit by 35 to 40 percent, pushing Russia toward its worst energy crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Residents of the Siberian city of Tyumen told independent outlet Meduza that they are being ignored as their city faced an “apocalypse” of polluted water, with residents falling ill and too afraid to bathe, shower, or wash food.

“All the financing is going towards those three famous letters,” one resident told the outlet, referring to the Kremlin’s term for the war in Ukraine: the SVO, or “special military operation.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/putins-desperate-plot-to-fix-his-humiliating-troop-crisis-exposed/?

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Ukraine

At least 17 people were killed and dozens more wounded in and around Kyiv overnight after Russia launched more than two dozen ballistic and anti-ship missiles, none of which Ukrainian defenses intercepted. The attack underscores the danger facing civilians far from the front lines as Ukraine struggles with critically low stocks of missile interceptors. July was already the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022, with Russian attacks killing at least 377 people and wounding more than 2,100 others.

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An overnight Ukrainian blitz damages Russia’s Black Sea naval stronghold, Zelenskyy says

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian anti-ship missiles and drones blitzed a major Russian naval base on the Black Sea coast in a “unique” nighttime operation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-black-sea-attack-9eadff0d7590923e3d98c99e2b61150b?

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Putin’s Drone Show Canceled as Humiliating Attacks Ramp Up

Russia’s biggest combat drone gathering is called off after organizers claim Ukraine was plotting to bomb it.

Russia has scrapped this year’s edition of its flagship combat drone convention over fears Ukrainian drones would blow it up.

Dronnitsa is the country’s biggest showcase for the drone industry driving Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. It was booked for Aug. 29-30 in the northwestern city of Veliky Novgorod, roughly 75 miles from the lakeside Valdai compound where the increasingly isolated 73-year-old tyrant now spends much of his time.

Organizers announced an indefinite postponement on the messaging app Telegram, popular in Russia, on Wednesday, according to independent media outlet Meduza. They said they’d learned of “the enemy’s plans to strike the gathering while it is underway.” The 2025 edition drew more than 1,500 attendees and exhibits from over 100 Russian manufacturers.

The alleged Ukrainian threat paired ballistic weaponry with what organizers branded “terrorist bio-drones,” the Moscow Times writes. They claimed that guarding the venue would have pulled air defense units and security officers away from plants and military sites across two regions. They published no evidence for their claims.

The event carries a blessing from Putin’s inner circle. Dmitry Peskov—the president’s special representative on digital and technological development, rather than the Kremlin spokesperson of the same name—opened last year’s gathering.

Kyiv has been reaching ever deeper into Russia all year. The cancellation came on the same day Ukrainian drones and missiles tore into the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Warships at the naval base were hit and two of the country’s biggest grain terminals stopped work. At least three people died, and 24 were wounded. Russia’s grain lobby is now warning that Black Sea exports could stop altogether.

Refineries have taken the heaviest punishment as Ukrainian strikes have taken huge parts of Russia’s capacity offline. Gasoline exports are banned through the end of 2026, and rationing is in force across dozens of regions, where there have been reports of lines at the pump for up to 36 hours.

Kyiv has gone after big businesses as well. Ukrainian drones have hit roughly a dozen sites belonging to Wildberries, the Russian analog to e-commerce giant Amazon. The opening wave of attacks killed eight people and injured more than 70, causing what analysts have put at up to $1.3 billion in damages.

The barrage has seen Putin shrink his ordinarily grandiose displays of military might to minimize prospective targets for Ukrainian attacks. Russia dropped its Navy Day parade in St. Petersburg, the country’s second city, for a second straight year in July, leaving the president to greet sailors beside a printed banner of a submarine. May’s Victory Day parade on Red Square was pared back over similar fears.

Those attacks have accompanied a growing economic squeeze as a result of the sheer cost of keeping the president’s war going. Analysts have repeatedly warned that the fuel crunch has pushed Russia into a recession as growth forecasts have been cut dramatically back.

Even pro-Kremlin pollsters now suggest popular support for Putin, especially among the younger generation, is waning, amid reports of discontent in the halls of the Kremlin over a growing lack of progress on the front lines.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-president-vladimir-putins-drone-show-canceled-as-humiliating-ukrainian-attacks-ramp-up/?